


The Stable Boy

by nevermore913



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Rumbelle Showdown 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-05-31 16:44:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6478003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nevermore913/pseuds/nevermore913
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ye olde "we met and you didn't tell me your name so I don't know you're someone important" AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Stable Boy

**Author's Note:**

> My Round 2 fic for the 2016 Rumbelle Showdown. My prompts were: Cobwebs, Almost, Roses are red.

Belle was glad for the peace and quiet. The day was warm and sunny and she had no duties to attend to at the moment. The last few months had been hard to say the least. Her father’s illness had taken a toll on her physically and mentally. She had been taking care of him from dawn to dusk while also struggling to manage the household. They had always been poor and only made enough to get by but when he could no longer work, things had gotten much worse. Belle could only care for him and hope for some miracle to happen before their meager savings dwindled to nothing.

In the end it had been for naught. Maurice French died on a chilly spring morning, with his only child by his side while she read to him. She had looked up from her book to see him sleeping peacefully and she was glad to notice his fever had gone down -his forehead wasn’t hot anymore. It took her a few moments to realize the truth and then all she could do was cry hopelessly and kiss the only parent she ever knew goodbye.

Since then her aunt had taken care of everything. She arranged the funeral and sold the house Belle had spent her life in. It used to be full of laughter and joy but now it was silent and dark, filled with cobwebs and dust. Mrs. Blaum had categorically refused to help them when things had been hard, but she was more than happy to take Belle under her wing after her father’s passing. She didn’t have any fortune but she was young and exceptionally beautiful. Beautiful enough for a somewhat wealthy man, even if she was poor as dirt. And so, Belle was removed from her working-class life in the north and moved to the south of England.

Her life wasn’t that bad, truth be told. She would read and she would tend to the garden; there were some lovely rose bushes that had been criminally neglected but Belle would set them right. The roses would be healthy and red as blood again. She would do it for her father.

Most days Lady Blanchard invited her for tea and later she would let her browse the library and borrow anything she wanted. The Blanchards were kind people. Their daughter Emma was only a few years younger than her and quite nice even if she didn’t talk much.

On the other side lived Mr. Gold. Even richer than the Blanchards, he had a notorious reputation. People disliked him because he was a recluse and had no title, even though he could buy most of them with his money. Belle hadn’t met him yet but she had met his son, Baelfire. He was a young man, handsome enough and with a good head on his shoulders. Mrs. Blaum would give anything for Belle to marry him if he wasn’t already engaged to Emma Blanchard.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard a horse neighing not too far away. She looked around and could just make out a man walking towards the lake while holding the reins of a horse. He was coming from the small forest that surrounded the estate. She would normally be afraid but she had lived here for some time and she knew the place was safe. It was probably a stable boy working either for the Blanchards or the Golds.

She picked up her book again and continued reading. When she looked up after a few minutes, the man had come closer and was approaching the lake. He didn’t look like a stable boy at all. Well, he was poorly dressed with black trousers, black boots and a white shirt that had seen better days; there was mud and dirt all over his clothes and shoes and he was sweaty but he wasn’t a boy. He was older, maybe in his late forties. He was thin and she was sure that if she stood next to him, he would only be a few inches taller than her. He had brown hair that was streaked with grey in a few places and it was long enough to reach his shoulders.

The man came closer still and let the horse rest and drink from the lake.

Suddenly, he turned to her.

“Who are you?” he asked with a rich voice and a scottish accent.

Belle was no lady but still she was shocked to be spoken to so abruptly.

“I’m… Belle. Belle French.”

“What are you doing here? Trespassing is illegal, as I’m sure you know.”

“I’m not trespassing. I live on the estate.”

He raised an eyebrow at that and looked at her critically.

“Do you now? And why haven’t I seen you around?”

Belle opened her mouth to answer when he spoke again.

“How long have you been working here?”

“I’m not working here,” she said. “I live with the Reverend and his wife. I’m their niece.”

“I see,” he said. “How long have you lived here, then?”

“Just a little over three months.”

He nodded and  turned away from her. Belle took the opportunity to study him. He was scrawny and his nose was crooked. He wasn’t handsome by any means but he was certainly distinguished and Belle found herself drawn to him.

“What about you? Have you worked here long?” she asked.

He looked surprised by her question and studied her for a moment, before answering.

“I suppose you could say that.”

Silence fell between them and Belle tried to think of something to make conversation. Her aunt would be absolutely shocked to find her willingly talking to one of the servants but she couldn’t care less.

“How do you like the estate?” he said, pulling her out of her thoughts.

“I love it!” she said.“It’s beautiful, especially now in the summer. I like walking around the grounds alone sometimes. It’s very peaceful.”

“Alone?”

“Well, most of the time. Sometimes Lady Blanchard or her daughter Emma walk with me.”

“You’re friends then?”

“Oh I don’t know if we’re friends” she said with a wry laugh. “They’re kind and generous but they’re so far above my station. We don’t move in the same circles, you see.”

He nodded and gave her a small smile to show he understood and that made her feel less lonely all of a sudden. Even if Lady Blanchard invited her to gatherings, it was only out of pity. They were full of rich, arrogant people and Belle would be glad to never set a foot at one of these things ever again. Her aunt wouldn’t hear of it of course. She lived for the moments when she would dress Belle in one of Emma’s old gowns and send her off to mingle with the high society.

“Who else have you met?” he asked and Belle was startled. He had moved and he was sitting beside her without her noticing.

“Mr. Baelfire Gold. He’s a kind man too. He’s treated me very well.”

He seemed to lose his humour at that.

He gave her a cold smile that didn’t reach his eyes and said “I wouldn’t get my hopes up if I were you. He’s engaged to be married, dearie.”

“Oh but I know that! I would never- I would never presume to take another woman’s fiance” she said in a strained voice. “Especially Miss Emma’s fiance. And especially a man I don’t like!”

“You don’t like him?” he said and he laughed.

Why was she making a fool of herself?

“I mean- Mr. Gold is a friendly and nice fellow but not the kind of man I would marry. And besides, how  _ could  _ I marry someone like him?”

“What does that mean?”

She shrugged and said “You know how it is. They're rich and we're poor. We’re not from the same world. Not to mention, they hear the accent and... well, you know” she said, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

“Oh I do know, dearie” he said with a wry smile.

He stayed silent again, regarding her with an unreadable stare.

Finally she stood up reluctantly and said “I should go. It’s almost time for lunch. My uncle and aunt will be waiting for me.”

He stood up after her and went to where he had left his horse.

“It was a pleasure meeting you!”

“The pleasure was all mine” he said and she felt thrilled by his insistent gaze on her.

“Have a nice day, Belle.”

She nodded and started walking back to the house. She kept thinking of their encounter, replaying their conversation in her head again and again. Perhaps if she hung around the lake more, she would meet him again and they could strike up a conversation. It would be good to have a friend here.

She had almost reached the garden, when she realized she hadn’t learnt his name.


End file.
